Post navigation

My Experience With Hair Loss After Pregnancy (Photo Included)

About four months after Isla was born, I started losing my hair. I know, I know. Some of you out there are thinking – so did I! It was coming out in clumps! I wondered how I still had hair!

BUT YOU GUYS – I had some bald patches and majorly thinning hair. And here is the photo to prove it:

Let’s rewind a bit. When I was about eight-months pregnant I went to my most amazing hair dresser Khirsten. She was raving about my pregnancy hair, and I’ll be honest, I was raving about it, too. My pre-pregnancy hair was very fine and a frizz-disaster. My pregnancy hair was lush, like a horses mane. While sitting in Khirsten’s chair she said, “I don’t want you to be alarmed, so I’m going to prep you now. You’re going to lose a lot of hair after pregnancy. A lot. And you might have some bald spots here, and here.” (pointing to the area right above both temples). The hairline above my temples isn’t the greatest. There is about a 2 inch span back to the crown of my head that is basically just baby hair. It’s been like that my whole life. Khirsten warned me that the baby hair would most likely grow more than it ever has (see below) and then probably fall out – but don’t worry, she said. It will come back!

Khirsten and me the day she predicted my future.

Well, I brushed that off (see what I did there). And after Isla arrived my hair was EVEN MORE AMAZING THAN PREGNANCY HAIR. I thought I had escaped the dreaded post-pregnancy hair loss. Instead of wrapping my ponytail holder around my hair four times, I was only wrapping it twice. I wasn’t seeing any signs of hair falling out. I figured I was golden. I even sent Khirsten a photo of my previous above the temple hair in all it’s glory.

Hey Khirsten, look at my LONG baby hair! It’s so long that I can BRAID it!

Here I am taking selfies with my baby. And my lush hair.

And just like that. It was all a dream. One day while showering I ran my fingers through my hair and about a handful of hair came out. I hadn’t washed my hair in a week – because you know – I had a four month old and finding time to wash my hair wasn’t easy. Since it had been a week and I had been wearing a luscious two wrapped ponytail the whole time, I figured the clump of hair was due to everything being trapped – no brushing. No nothing. But then another handful. And another. And so on. It got bad. REALLY BAD.

The hair loss got so bad that a few weeks later our super had to come and snake the shower drain. And snaking it wasn’t good enough. He had to use some sort of crazy vacuum to get all the hair out. I made sure that I collected all the loose hair, splashed it up against the shower wall, and then cleared it out later (and sometimes wrote love notes in hair on the wall to my husband), but alas. Hair was just constantly falling out. Hair was everywhere, all the time. There was nothing I could do about it.

Shower wall hair.

And then one day when I went to pull my hair back in a ponytail I noticed two large almost-completely bald spots. Right above my temples. Right where Khirsten had said it would happen. Oh, and I was back to wrapping my ponytail holder around my hair 4 times.

For about a two month period I had to blow dry my hair and style it because I had to hide the bald spots for work (see my thoughts on this below). However, with my friends, I owned it. I would flip my head to the side and show them what was up. Because hey, this is shit no one tells you will most likely happen after you have a baby. Yea, we talk about hair shedding, but I didn’t hear about people actually having bald spots and majorly thinning hair.

Once the hair started growing back, there was a period of time it looked like I had that trendy hairdo where you shave the sides of your head – someone in the subway even complimented me on being bold and having that haircut.

This is not a trendy-partially-shaved hairdo. This is me about two months after hair loss.

I’m now about three months post-bald spots and I have a fuzzy coat of downy hair. And guess what – I’m owning it. Because here’s the deal – I don’t want any women out there to be dumbfounded, surprised, embarrassed, anxious or upset if this happens to them. It’s time we start talking about what really happens after you have a baby so women stop feeling so alone as they go through their experiences. Pregnancy does things to your body and your hormones and your sanity, y’all. It changes you. We shouldn’t be fighting to get back to our “pre-baby body” – because WE BIRTHED BABIES. We literally carried babies and delivered them via our birth canal, pushing them out of our vaginas, or by having a major surgery that cuts open our abdomen and uterus. We should be embracing these changes and celebrating what happens to our bodies. While my bald spots weren’t the most attractive, instead of being something I felt like I had to hide at work, couldn’t they be badges of honor?

Anyway…visit me again next week for my post on my experience with delayed postpartum depression. It’s a real thing. I’ll also have a recipe post. Here’s the schedule. Fridays will be dedicated to “Shit No One Tells You About AFTER Your Baby Arrives” and Mondays will be dedicated to recipes. Let’s start our week and end our week together!

In the mean time to keep yourselves busy, take a look at this WikiHow on how to deliver a baby at home. Please be sure to pay close attention to drawing in Part 2 of 5 – because sure, that’s really what it looks like when a baby comes out the birth canal. I mean, if there’s going to be a WikiHow on how to deliver a baby they could at least provide realistic photos. Right? (Please note this is not a promotion for delivering babies at home via directions on WikiHow. This is a note on how ridiculous the photo is.)

Thank you so much for sharing this! My baby just turned 5 months, and I just needed to find an article or blog I could relate to. I am also experiencing hair loss above the temple area. Up until a couple of weeks ago I was feeling pretty down because I felt like I needed to know how long I would be pulling out clunks of hair. I know now that this is just a part of the pregnancy ride, it is only temporary, and as long as I’m breastfeeding, my current hormones aren’t going anywhere. It’s nice to know that I am definitely not the only one experiencing post-pregnancy hair loss, especially like this. 🙂

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading! Hang in there – it does get better! So many women experience this type of hair loss. It’s just one more thing that comes along with birthing a baby. 🙂 Thanks again for reading!

I just found this blog entry after doing a search on post pregnancy hair loss. Last night I burst into tears in front of my husband because “I’m going bald!” My baby just turned 4 months old and I literally have the same balding at the sides of my head.. Exactly the same. You made me feel so much better… This post was written for me!! Lol. Thank you!

Mine started so much later than others–8 months postpartum. I’m now 11 months postpartum. It’s odd bc I never really noticed much hair falling out. There wasn’t anything in the shower or on my brush. I looked in the mirror a few months ago and noticed that my temples were visible!! Like you, my hair has always been thin there. Then as the days went by it got worse and worse!! Did you notice like the long hair at the temples was getting shorter and shorter?? I’m going to my hair stylist this week. Maybe getting bangs YIKES!!

Hi! I think the long hair at the temples getting shorter was actually my hair falling out and then regrowing. I will tell you this – it all gets better! My hair is finally healthy again. It took about 8 months. It’s a long road, but it will get better! Bangs are a great option!

Hi! My solution was to wait it out. I know some people who tried hair growth stimulators (always check with your doctor first on this). Overall it sounds like time is the best medicine for this. Good luck to you and your wife. Thanks so much for stopping by and reading!

Thank you so much for writing this article. I lost my son at 38 weeks (I got reduced movements and then there was no heartbeat- he had a ‘true knot’ in his umbilical cord). I gave birth to him naturally 4 months ago today and all my hair has been falling out- especially above the temples! I have two balding patches and I’ve been worrying that it’s because of the stress of losing my son. People don’t realise that I carried a baby to full term, sometimes I have to remind myself. Today is Mother’s Day in the UK and I’ve had a few handfuls of hair come out. At least I know other people have experienced it too! How long did it take to start to return to normal?

I’m so sorry to hear about your son. I wish there were words I could say that would be somewhat comforting.

It took about 6 months for my hair to return to normal – that includes the growth period after the hair fell out. For a while I had these super short hairs that stuck straight out. My hair finally, almost a year later, is still growing in, but no one else can notice but me.

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading. I’ll be thinking of you! xx

Thank you so much on sharing your story I feel a little more better knowing that I am not the only one going through this. I had have 4 pregnancy on my previous 3 pregnancy I had never had so much hair loss until this pregnancy #4. I been lossing so much hair is making me so depress i don’t even want leave my house. How long did the hair shedding last for you?

Hi! Thank you so much for visiting and reading. The hair loss lasted for a few weeks for me. But it took about 7 months for the new growth to come. There was an awkward period where I had a lot of hair sticking up everywhere since it was so short as it came in. Hang in there. It gets better. I promise!!

Thank you. This offers me reassurance and helps me remember that I should love everything about myself, including hair loss. It is another reminder of the beautiful journey that I’ve been able to experience bringing life into this world.